Bank to open downtown Fargo branch office

Written By

Helmut Schmidt
Mar 14th 2019 - 12pm.

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Demolition was under way at 305 Broadway in downtown Fargo on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, to prepare the space for a new Starion Bank branch. (Photo by Helmut Schmidt / The Forum)Photo by Helmut Schmidt / The Forum

FARGO — Starion Bank plans to open a branch in downtown Fargo this spring.

The new office will be a 305 Broadway, according to City of Fargo reports.

A May opening is planned, said Wendy Schweitzer, the bank’s public relations and digital media strategist.

Customers have urged Starion to open a north Fargo branch for a while, she said. The Bismarck-based firm now has branches in Fargo at 2525 S. University Drive and in the fast-growing southwest area at 2754 Brandt Drive S.

Downtown seemed to be the perfect fit, Schweitzer said.

“It’s a great place to be right now. I mean, there’s so much going on in downtown Fargo, that we just think there’s a lot of opportunity,” Schweitzer said Tuesday, March 12.

Schweitzer said there will be four to five employees at the downtown branch, which will offer retail and business banking.

She said that rather than a traditional bank teller set-up, a greeter will direct customers to pods where employees will interact with them in a more relaxed, shoulder-to-shoulder manner.

“It’s exciting for us to be looking at something very new,” Schweitzer said. “It’s just a little more of a comfortable setting.”

Offices will also be available for more complex banking, she said.

The downtown location will give Starion Bank 13 offices in North Dakota and three in Wisconsin.

The family-owned bank now has $1.3 billion in assets and is celebrating its 50th year in business, Schweitzer said.